IGLTAStart planning now for the world's premier educational and networking event for LGBTQ tourism. Registration pricing for #IGLTA2019 is available now to help with budgeting. The direct booking link for the New York Hilton Midtown, our host hotel, is also live. You won't want to miss the first IGLTA Annual Global Convention in our 36-year-history to be held in New York City. We UNITE the thought leaders of LGBTQ travel, 24-27 April, 2019READ MORE

IGLTAPlease join us in supporting the small business members of IGLTA, such as Venezuela-based Sagitravel Friendly, who will help you escape to the most paradisiacal landscapes and exotic islands and experience sensational gastronomy; and Provincetown Tourism Office, the Massachusetts destination well known for its thriving LGBTQ community, pristine beaches, terrific restaurants, exceptional accommodations, exciting eco-tourism, fun outdoor activities, eclectic shops and art galleries and world-class entertainment and nightlife. READ MORE

.

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

Rivendell Media RIVENDELL MEDIA is the sales staff for more than 200 LGBT newspapers, magazines & entertainment guides & when you call us you are dealing directly with the publication. Rivendell Media will help you plan & execute media campaigns not only by region, city or budget but also by ethnicity, m/f readership, age & other critical indicators.

IGLTAJoin Meet Minneapolis and the IGLTA Foundation for the 15th Annual LGBT Party during ASAE. The event runs from 10:01 pm to 1 a.m., 20 August at Roscoe's in Chicago. Meeting planners and association executives should bring a business card for entry in the grand prize Minneapolis getaway drawing valued at over $3,000! No charge to attend, but donations to the IGLTA Foundation are encouraged. Funds raised will support the development of the next generation of LGBT tourism professionals, marketing assistance for small LGBT businesses in emerging destinations, and global research to further understanding of the LGBT travel industry.REGISTER NOW

Out & About NashvilleThe Nashville LGBT Chamber has a new logo featuring the iconic rainbow flag, marking the next era for the organization.
"Our new logo communicates who we are today and builds on the past 20 years of experience to represent us through the next phase," said marketing committee chair and board member Christopher Lester. READ MORE

The New York TimesThe 10th Gay Games, an international sports event that bills itself as the world's largest and "most inclusive" — anyone can participate, even straight people — will come to a close on Sunday in Paris.
The event has grown tremendously since its kickoff in 1982 in San Francisco, where it was originally advertised as the "Gay Olympics" by its founder, Dr. Thomas F. Waddell, an Olympic decathlete.READ MORE

BBC NewsCosta Rica's Supreme Court has ruled that the country's same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional and discriminatory.
The court ruling gives the country's legislators a time limit of 18 months to change the current law.
The president welcomed the ruling, saying he wants to guarantee "no person will face discrimination for their sexual orientation."READ MORE

Daily BeastLGBT activists in Lebanon are drawing up a proposed law to be presented to parliament intended to remove current articles and laws used to criminalize homosexuality in the country.
Hadi Damien, organizer of Beirut Pride, told The Daily Beast that the proposed law was being drawn up by members of Beirut Pride, campaigners, lawyers and judges.
READ MORE

The Times of IsraelSome 2,000 young people marched in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the deadly shooting at the city's Bar Noar gay youth center and demand an end to discrimination against the LGBT community.
The 2009 attack was carried out by a lone gunman who killed two young people and wounded dozens more. The shooter was never caught. Many in the LGBT community consider the shooting a hate crime while police have speculated that it was motivated by a personal dispute rather than antipathy toward gays. READ MORE

New Now NextTwo women in Malaysia who were discovered having sex in a car have been sentenced to canning, each set to receive six lashings later this month.
The women, ages 32 and 22, were also each fined 3,300 ringgit, the equivalent of $805. They face up to four months imprisonment if they fail to pay the fine.
The sentence was handed down by Judge Kamalruazmi Ismail after the couple pleaded guilty to what is still a punishable offense in the country. READ MORE

ReutersItaly's right-wing Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has ordered the wording on some official forms changed so that same-sex couples cannot both declare themselves as a child's parents. Salvini, interior minister and leader of the anti-immigrant League party, is now the Italy's most favored politician, according to some surveys, and his socially conservative policies have proven popular among voters so far. READ MORE

bne IntelliNewsTens of thousands of dancing people marched through Prague city centre to celebrate the eighth lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Prague Pride festival at the weekend, while the Czech Republic's parliament grapples with the thorny issue of becoming the first post-Communist country to legalise same-sex marriages.
Wenceslas Square is usually dominated by tourists but it was covered with rainbow flags, a symbol of the LGBT movement around the world, from early afternoon on 11 August. READ MORE

IndependentA schoolboy has become the first minor to be prosecuted under Russia's strict "gay propaganda" laws.
Maxim Neverov, a 16-year-old from the city of Biysk, was reportedly fined £50,000 rubles (£580) by a court, according to campaign group the Russian LGBT Network.
The organization said a police report filed in July claimed the teenager had posted several images of "partly nud" men on the social network VKontakte.READ MORE